Landerkunst
Geography Believed to have been an art project by the ancient Dhana who first arrived, the Great Mirror is a circular stone the size of two dwarves at it's diameter polished to such a fine sheen and layered with absurdly thin coatings of metal dust has produced a piece of stone that can reflect the sunlight that reaches in at such a diffused level as to be tolerable for the Dhana and to illuminate much of their primary settlements. Said to be blessed by the greatest ancestors, the Lunar Forge is a medium sized cavern open to the sky and always lit by the large moon whatever the Solar Cycle so long as it is not a New Moon. Within the cavern the Dhana constructed, although they claim it was there upon their arrival Mularuhm scholars insist its design is clearly Dhana, is a great forge for processing Glass Ore. The forge is only run at night and only under a full moon but Mularuhm observers believed this to just be ceremony and any forge to be capable of shaping and forging Glass Ore. They attempted this using mithril forging techniques and, while they were successful, the product were not of the same quality as those forged in the Lunar Forge. Mularuhm scholars and smelters chalked this up to their inexperience with the material. A painted history of the Dhana stretching for about a quarter mile along, the Mosaic is a cave devoted to preserving their history, the Mosaic is considered a curiosity by Mularuhm but a place of much importace and reverence by the Dhana. People Incredibly small by surfacer standards and small even by Dwarven standards the inhabitants of Landerkunst are believed to be relatives of the gnomes of Ayava, a fact further supported by their name for themselves, the Dhana. Unlike the gnomes of Ayava however, the Dhana are not a race bound to knowledge and preservation of text and matters of learning but instead a more impulsive and artistic people who revere the written word not for the knowledge contained within but for its beauty and the works of art made by great workers of stone and brush not for their skill, though such is marveled as well, but primarily for the aesthetic wonder captured by the artisan's ability. Like their northern cousins and the Dwarves of Asterith, the Dhana are sensitive to sunlight and prefer spending their time underground although are careful to have display areas near the entrances to their caverns or below openings to the sky so that at night when the moon is high they might come and appreciate the art of their ancestors. Although the Dhana don't tend to keep fastidious or even consistent written records they are capable of writing and based on Dwarven investigations into these as well as oral histories it has been determined the Dhana were either cast out or chose to leave Ayava and their cousins in the north centuries ago due to ideological differences with their northern brethren. They wandered for variably a week, forty days and nights, or a century depending on which source is taken to be true before discovering Landerkunst, a name given by the Mularuhm as the Dhana had never before titled their lands, and settling. Resources Rising from the ground and collecting in pools, Boiling Smoke is a pitch black substance that appears to hover between a state as a liquid and as a gas. Though it remains pooled as a liquid on the ground it constantly bubbles, or boils, and black smoke rolls off of it though it does not appear to evaporate. Despite its threatening appearance it is apparently non-toxic in its natural state, although inhaling the smoke will prompt a brief, one to three minute, but incredibly intense hallucinogenic state. The Dhana use it ritualistically as a high, some falling to addiction, but it is also used in art projects for its peculiar state of being. Appearing to be pieces of glass stuck in the rock or gems hidden by rocky surroundings, Glass Ore is far more strange and unique. It is an ore, much as iron, and can be smelted and when smelted can be crafted into any items normally made of more mundane metal substances yet it is crystal clear, hard as diamond, and as light as mithril. The Dhana use it to create art pieces but it also serves as a source for the creation of metalware such as tools or cutlery. The Mularuhm have noted its exceptional usefulness for the creation of weapons and armor. Though the Dhana only contain one record of crafting a weapon of Glass Ore, the legendary Glass Sword of Andu, and this tale tells of how the violent conquest of Andu was his undoing but the Dhana have not protested the Mularuhm forging plans, believing they're lessons shall be learned as the Dhana learned their own. The Dhana love art, it is in their very nature to create and express themselves and they take great joy in seeing the expression of others. With the arrival of the Mularuhm one of their stipulations for joining with the Ringmaker Crown was the promise they would be given access to foreign crafted art pieces. Religion The Dhana revere their ancestors and believe them to be the stars of the night and the moons to be the greatest ancestors. They pursue worship through studying their ancestor's art as well as creating their own in reverence to their forebearers. References http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18725589&postcount=66 Category:Regions Category:Underground Regions Category:Regions of Telluris Category:Underground Regions of Telluris